Convertible furniture has long existed to provide multi-functionality and space saving design. Sleepers, furniture pieces that unfold to provide a bed, have been particularly popular. Sleepers have been developed with several unfolding patterns and configurations to result in virtually every commonly available bed size, from cot to California king. Sleepers have found homes in health care for overnight guests in a hospital room. They are commonly seen in hospitality settings, provided as an extra bed within a hotel room. Sleepers are also common in residential settings were a sleeper can be used to accommodate friends and family visiting for the night.
Early convertible sleepers were often uncomfortable in both their folded and unfolded positions. In general the bed mechanisms limited the design options of the furniture when folded, leading to suboptimal comfort and appearance. Likewise, the need to be folded limited the comfort of the furniture when unfolded. Mattresses used with sleepers were necessarily thin and failed to adequately compare to traditional sleeping surfaces. Users could often feel the support structure used under the mattress. The design of the motion mechanisms used within the furniture often led to exposed linkages or springs when unfolded, resulting in undesirable gaps, pinch points or hard edges around the perimeter of the mattress.
There continues to be a need for a furniture piece that provides a folded position that is comfortable and aesthetically pleasing, minimizing or eliminating the ability to outwardly discern the furniture's ability to convert to a bed. Simultaneously, the furniture piece should produce an unfolded bed position that is able to provide a comfortable sleeping surface while minimizing the appearance and accessibility of a motion mechanism.